Anyone splurging with tariffs bringing in the billions?

The overwhelming majority of houses in America use inputs that are imported from other countries. Canadian lumber is one of the biggest inputs for housing construction in the country.

Putting tariffs on lumber and Cooper isn't going to make houses cheaper nor is deporting the labor that builds the house. You're in a cult

 

Its not 10%. The admin wants to issue a 30% tariff. Again lowering interest rates isnt going to make housing cheaper. Tariffs on inputs + mass deportations + cheaper rates is going to cause massive inflation in the market.

Learn supply and demand and get off your burner account

 

The US got ~70% of our wood products from Canada.

Or...we did?

 

But thats a good thing. Why should we cut down our trees at a time climate change is getting worst? Also you didnt even mention the amount of copper used especially in wiring? I just dont get how MAGATs think lowering interest rates will make housing cheaper when theyre raising the costs of building materials substantially?

Are there any smart right wingers on these forums? Sincerely it gets boring debating with clueless individuals

 

ATW thinks “extreme liberalism” = far left lol

 

Hey that is great! Consumers get to pay $100,000,000 more for goods and products!

If you mean a subservient working class with no real mechanism of advancement, then agreed!

Enjoy your Toyota Land Cruiser.

 

Tariffs hit middle- and lower-income households the hardest because they spend a larger share of their income on imported necessities.

Wealthier households feel it less, since imports make up a smaller portion of their spending, which leans heavily on services, education, healthcare, and leisure. They also can shift more easily to domestic alternatives when imports become prohibitively expensive.

If the goal is to raise revenue from the top 10%, a far more direct and efficient approach is to increase taxes on higher income brackets. That way you avoid the economic inefficiencies and unintended consequences of tariffs, and spare middle- and lower-income families from extra burden.

If the goal instead is to cut taxes for the top while hoping to replace that revenue with tariffs, that is exactly what’s happening now. But even under that approach, tariffs create market distortions, drag down economic output, fuel inflation, and will not fully replace the revenue lost from tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthiest.

 

You raise some common talking points, but let’s be clear: tariffs are not the solution to the economic challenges you describe. Cutting loopholes for the ultra-rich and corporations is important, but dismissing modest tax rate increases as “naive” ignores the fact that a fair and efficient tax system is essential. The idea that a few percentage points won't solve "everything" is not an excuse to avoid making the system more progressive and closing glaring gaps. We've successfully raised taxes before to fund transformative programs that built modern America. The New Deal proved that strategic tax increases can finance massive public investments in infrastructure, education, and economic opportunity that benefit everyone. Higher taxes on the wealthy funded the interstate highway system, public universities, and research programs that created entire industries. The notion that modest tax increases are futile ignores this proven track record of using progressive taxation to drive broad-based prosperity.

Onshoring and domestic diversification sound good in theory, but tariffs are not the way to achieve them. They do not guarantee the return of key industries, and we should not even be chasing low-wage, low-return sectors like cheap clothing or basic manufacturing. America’s strength has always come from leading in high-value industries: technology, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, medicine, and other fields that drive growth and innovation. That requires targeted investment in research, education, and infrastructure, not blunt tariffs that simply raise prices for consumers and drag on the economy.

Regarding the tax burden in NYC, yes, high earners pay a lot in combined taxes, but that doesn’t mean the system is broken or that we should halt efforts to make it fairer. Questioning where tax increases “end” often serves as a stalling tactic. We need a balanced tax code that raises sufficient revenue without chasing away opportunity.

Finally, attacking the debate over everyday costs as “liberal activism” is a diversion. The real issue is that tariffs raise costs on basic goods disproportionately hitting middle- and lower-income families. If opportunity and earning power were truly the focus, relying on tariffs, known to stifle growth and fuel inflation, makes no sense.

Bessent isn't making an independent economic case; he's implementing the tariff-magical-solution agenda. We need comprehensive policies: smart tax reform, closing loopholes, investing in economic opportunity, and thoughtful diversification. Tariffs deliver none of that. The real goal of across-the-board tariffs is cutting taxes for the top while hoping tariff revenue covers the difference. It won't. Look at pre-income tax America, when government relied almost entirely on high tariffs. That was the "golden age" many in this administration want to return to, with concentrated wealth at the top while leaving everyone else behind.

 

Its sincerely hilarious how you argue concentration at the top 1% is the worst its ever been (you are right) but you think the guy whos in bed with corporate america will help that issue.

-Trumps FTC has allowed more corporate concentration in 6 months than biden did his entire term

- Trump eliminating the CFPB means working class have no regulators fighting for them against financial scams. 2+ million complaints this year have gone unanswered

-Trump gutting the NLRB means its harder to unionize now than ever befoee

You have your finger on the pulse yet you're delusional and brainwashed about the solution. Trumps is corporate Americans b****



You're just brainwashed

 

this is the dizzying heighth of intellectual dishonesty, the misleading heading of your link

you do realize the avg income of the top 1% earner is more than 300 times that of the avg Joe;
yet their effective tax rate, per you link, is only less than twice that of the avg Joe, no?

https://www.salarycube.com/compensation/what-is-the-average-ceo-salary-by-company-size/​

 

TBH, this was hard to read and I don’t have time to keep going, so this is my last post for now.

You’re making a lot of noise here, but not a coherent case. Let's reset and get back to the actual debate: are tariffs an effective economic policy for helping the working and middle class?

First, yes, wealth inequality is a real and serious issue. No one is denying that the current system has failed to deliver fair gains to most Americans. But it’s important to recognize that the main driver of this growing wealth gap has been decades of tax policies pushed by Republicans that disproportionately benefit the ultra-wealthy and corporations. These policies have stripped revenue from public investment and shifted the burden onto the middle class, making inequality worse.

Your defense of tariffs as some sort of silver bullet solution doesn’t follow. You say “the non-tariff system wasn’t working,” but that’s not proof that tariffs do work. Bad policy doesn’t become good just because the alternative needs fixing.

Bessent’s “Wall Street to Main Street” slogan sounds nice, but slogans aren't policy. If the aim is to create strong, sustainable, well-paying jobs, then tariffs are a lazy and inefficient way to get there. Raising prices on tech and auto parts doesn't magically force companies to bring production home. It just makes things more expensive while supply chains adapt around it or pass costs to consumers. The fact that some companies are investing domestically is due far more to targeted subsidies, CHIPS Act incentives, and public-private investment, not blanket tariffs.

You criticize “handouts” and “food stamps,” but tariffs are just backdoor taxation. They hit working-class consumers hardest, raising the price of everything from appliances to cars, while giving the illusion of action. You say people don't want handouts, but tariffs don’t create jobs by default. They just distort markets and shift costs around. There's no guarantee of security or dignity in that.

Also, your argument keeps veering off into emotional and unrelated directions: LeBron’s school, Claudine Gay, test scores in liberal cities. What does any of that have to do with the core question? Are tariffs the best tool to restore middle-class stability and growth? You're all over the place. Pick a lane. If your argument is about reshoring industry, then let’s talk serious policy: training, education, infrastructure, R&D investment. Not trade war economics from the 19th century.

And about “investing in economic opportunity and diversification,” it means backing innovation, building domestic supply chains in future-focused sectors like clean tech and AI, and making sure Americans have the skills and access to participate in them. It's not about gig workers fighting for scraps. It's about creating the foundation for durable, high-growth industries where America can lead. That takes strategic planning, not just throwing tariffs at the wall and hoping something sticks.

Bottom line: you’re venting frustration, but you’re not making a clear case for how tariffs solve any of this. They don’t create stability. They don’t drive innovation. And they certainly don’t fix inequality. If you want real solutions, stop waving the tariff flag and start engaging in actual economic strategy.

 

Lefties in here trying to sound so damn smart but completely clueless about econ 101. The last four years of your shiitshow should have shut you clowns up forever. And stop using Covid as an excuse. It’s early in the game but I’m enjoying the heck out of this, the start of our road back to freedom and prosperity thanks to Trump. Just bought me a 2024 Hyundai Kona from Hertz Car Sales last week and paid cash for it, a great car to run my errands in.

 

The Kona is garbage (at least the ev version compared to Tesla) and of course you'd support Trump but buy an imported vehicle.

 

Lol… the person who doesn’t pay her bets is lecturing the rest of us….

 

Tariffs are tax. There’s no way arguing around that.

If you think raising taxes on every consumer will help the middle class then god bless you.

And this entire thing is just embarrassing charade….. Wild how pretty much every country agreed to 15% tariffs and some made up $500 billion investment. AND these are just an executive order so they have no true lasting power outside of this Trump term.

And after Trump delaying tariffs for so long, we haven’t even felt the true weight of them yet.